The American Anglican Council and Financial Backing

In the London Church Times of 3 October 2003 there is an article by Steve Levin, a staff writer on the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette (USA paper).

He calls the members and supporters of the American Anglican Council "US traditionalists" which is his way of contrasting them with the supporters of "gay rights" in the Episcopal Church USA.

He states that between 1997 & 2002 the AAC spent more than $3 million internally within the ECUSA seeking to promote its viewpoint. Its most generous donor is the Californian multi-millionaire Howard F Ahmanson Jr, who gives annually at least $200.000.00 to the AAC, to match money it first raises itself.

Closely allied with the AAC in activism within the ECUSA is the Institute on Religion and Democracy of Washington DC, which is well supported by charities and foundations connected with the Scaife family of Pittsburgh. Of interest is the fact that Mrs. Roberta Ahmanson, wife of Howard F., is on the Board of the Institute. It spent about $541.000.00 between 1997 & 2002 on programmes aimed at the Episcopal Church (and similar sums within Methodist and Presbyterian main-line churches).

Steve Levin did not know the context for which he was writing and so has probably given a wrong impression to the readers of the Church Times. In Britain and in the Church of England, for the supporters of the AAC & I R & D to be called "traditionalists", suggests that they hold to solid tradition - and thus use the traditional services of the classic BCP, read from the traditional Bible (KJV) and use language on the principle "We say 'Thou/Thee' to GOD and we say 'you' to man."

Of course, those living in the ECUSA know that the majority of support for these two organizations is from those who are better described as evangelical charismatics or charismatic evangelicals or just modern evangelicals. They are "traditionalists" only in the sense that they are deeply opposed to the gay agenda and are committed to the authority of Holy Scripture and the truth of the Creeds received and understood in the modern evangelical ethos. They use the NIV and the NRSV and Rite II from the 1979 Prayer Book (as at the Dallas Congress, 7-9 October) and call God "You".

The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon.)